By Bill Otwell FAIA

The City of Prescott is a living laboratory of architectural preservation and restoration.  Early projects include the 1979 restoration of the 1903 Carnegie Library and the 1981 adaptive reuse of the 1896 City Jail and Firehouse for the Chamber of Commerce. These projects inspired forty plus years of preservation activity. The most recent project is the restoration of the 1931 Post Office and Federal Courtroom on Goodwin Street, where two vacant courtroom floors are now professional offices and an event space.  A postal station still occupies the ground floor.  These projects were successful due, in part, to historical resources available at the Sharlot Hall Museum archives.

Long before the current preservation era, in 1927, historian Sharlot Hall gained access to the 1864 Governor’s Mansion for a museum.   The structure was built as a home and office for John Goodwin, the first Territorial Governor, and Richard McCormick, the first Territorial Secretary. When compared to the shanties and tents on Granite Creek, it seemed like a mansion. The ponderosa pine log structure still stands on the museum campus as the oldest territorial building on its original site in Arizona. On June 11, 1928, Sharlot opened her museum in the restored building. 

Sharlot’s museum will be 100 years old in 2028. The campus includes five additional historic structures worth exploration. Three of these were relocated to the campus to save them from demolition. Uprooting historic structures and moving them to a new location is not considered an ideal treatment, yet sometimes it’s the only option.

The second structure to appear on Sharlot’s campus was Fort Misery in 1934. Built on the banks of Granite Creek in late 1863 or early 1864 by Manuel Yrisarri, it is the oldest known log cabin still existing in Arizona. It served as a trading post and the seat of the first territorial legislature.

The Sharlot Hall Building was constructed in 1936 using native stone and timber. It fits nicely with the Mansion and Fort Misery.

The Transportation Building was constructed in 1937 using cast-in-place concrete. It was incorporated into the campus in 1970. The tall open space is ideal for displaying historic wagons and buggies.

The John C. Fremont House was constructed in 1875 on the corner of Marina and Gurley Streets.  Victorian in style, it’s a rare example of stacked plank wall construction with two layers, one vertical and one horizontal. No studs are used in this construction method.  The house was moved twice, first to Marina and Union Streets in the early 1900s, then to the Sharlot Hall Museum in 1972. Fremont was the fifth governor of the Arizona Territory.

The Bashford House is a Victorian style home built in 1877 and purchased by merchant William Coles Bashford for his young wife, Mary Louise. This style was fashionable during the Territorial Period. It escaped the bulldozer in 1973 when it was saved by the people of Prescott from demolition for a fast-food restaurant on East Gurley Street. Although not on its original site, it retains original detailing and the same compass orientation. Its trip down Elk’s hill, towed by a moving truck, was a dramatic way to kickstart the modern preservation movement. It also created interest in the important preservation work undertaken at Sharlot Hall. Now more than 50 years later, the board and staff continue to pursue Sharlot’s vision. This beautiful house is the perfect cornerstone for Prescott’s architectural history showplace.

Discover our pioneer log cabin architectural heritage by attending Sharlot Hall Museum’s Living History Adventure – “Frontier Timber & Territorial Beginnings” August 8, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. See https://sharlothallmuseum.org/event-calendar/ for more information.

“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.